My son is handsome. I am sure this isn’t just mommy bias, as strangers tell me this all the time. I agree with them saying he has “good genes,” because as a mother, I take credit wherever I can.
And, my hope is that he stays handsome – don’t get me
wrong, I will love him no matter what he looks like – but I want him to get
good grades.
Are you following me here? No? Oh, well maybe you haven’t
seen the study
from the Society for Research on Child Development in which they find that
children who are better-looking are more likely to get higher grades and go to
college.
The more attractive children in the study reported higher levels of teacher
attention, and that they had more friends and less depression. As the study tracked their progress, those children also went on to become more
successful.
This isn’t really surprising, is it? We all have that
good-looking friend that seems to have an easy life, where great things are
just handed to him/her. We suspect it is because they are good looking, and now (thanks to researchers with too much grant money) we know we were right. Thanks, science!
Whether my son retains his cuteness or somehow sprouts those little devil horns I am sure are just beneath the surface, I am a big
believer in education. So I will encourage him to work hard and earn his good grades.
Feel like sharing a story about that good-looking friend of yours who got everything they wanted? Tell me in the comments. I'm listening.
Hi Lauren, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis really interesting article brings me back to my childhood. There was a girl in my class who was strange looking and had a lisp. I remember her walking around the playground on her own and I remember the teachers picking on her and slapping her more than the rest of us.
I hope things are better in schools now.
I will never forget this little girl and I hope she went on to meet with kinder people and that her life turned out better than it started.
All the best - Grace
Thanks for sharing that story, Grace. It's kind of a scary tale when you flip it over and ask what treatment all the "average-looking" children have to endure. I share your hopes for that little girl in your story.
DeleteHi Lauren, I agree to some extent that good looking people have it a little easy in life...hence would like my daughter to turn out good looking too...after all which mother wouldn't want an easy handed-on-the-platter life for her kids.
ReplyDeleteI almost think this topic is harder for parents with daughters. How do you walk that fine line between wanting your child to be attractive and yet not wanting her to tie her self-worth into her looks?
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